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The moment
that made me a radical pedestriancame in 1985, when I was crossing the street in Portland with
my infant daughter strapped to my chest and my toddler son by the hand,
and a motorist cut us off. He nearly ran over my kid and my toes.

Primed with indignation and a big hit of adrenaline,
I bopped the back of his car with our diaper bag as he pulled away. And
this man, who was in such a hurry that he couldn't yield the right-of-way
to a mom with two babies, found the time to stop his car, get out, put
up his fists and say, "You ever do that again I'll beat the shit
out of you."

Setting aside the absurdity of his utterance(Again? You bet I'll do it again, buster! But why wait
till next time? Here, lemme unbuckle my baby and we can settle this right
now...) it is truly amazing how personally people take it when you
touch their cars.

I don't bop cars anymore. After years of losing umbrellas and my temper, I came to the
realization that I can't help raise the level of civility on the street
by giving in to rage. The thirteenth-century Persian poet Rumi said, "When
you give respect, you get respect. If you bring sweetness, you will be
given almond cake." Nowadays I just smile like the front end of a
1948 Buick Roadmaster.

Some radical pedestrian notions:

Pedestrian
Actions

Sprawl Makes Us
FAT

Selling
Walking

Why Walk?
Why Not?

We Need Walkway
Network Models!

The late, great Susie Stephens died crossing
the street on March 21, 2002.

Pedestrian Action in
Portland, April 1994

Pedestrian activism is better when you organize and do it together. Over the years,
I've had the good fortune to fall in with terrific people who share this
peculiar interest in walking and pedestrian rights. I have learned much
from them. There is a vibrant, growing network of folks across the country
who are all working to make our communities better places to live and
to walk. You can read more about that work at http://americawalks.org/.

Tips for crossing: make
eye contact
and smile like the front end of an old Buick